The City of Vancouver is making it easier for homeowners of townhouses and condos to renovate their dwellings through improved permitting.
The Residential Renovation Fast Track stream issues permits within a week for simple residential renovation projects under $95,000. Projects eligible for these Fast Track permits include simple kitchen or bathrooms alterations, expanding storage, solar panels, plumbing or electrical updates, restoration work and some accessibility upgrades. These expedited permits now account for 20 per cent of all renovation applications.
“Renovations are some of the most complex permits the City processes with great variability in scope and complexity,” said Corrie Okell, director of permitting services. “Processing times for these types of residential renovations are the fastest we have seen in five years, and with more applicants using this simple process, we are optimistic this positive trend will continue.”
The City has also made it easier for people to explore if a laneway house is allowed on their property through the interactive digital Project Requirements Exploration Tool (PRET), which allows applicants to research and understand all regulations and requirements associated with their site.
Other changes over the past few months include:
- Simplifying the regulations for low-density housing, including the elimination of many design requirements and consolidating nine separate zones into one new Residential Inclusive (R1-1) zone.
- Eliminating more than 150 engineering conditions previously required for many complex development projects and expanding the use of risk-based reviews for remaining conditions, which reduces staff review times by one-third.
The City aims to expand PRET to include more project types and areas in Vancouver, expand the fast-track renovation permits to include commercial renovations, further simplify land use policies and guidelines, and recommend that Council revoke several existing land use policies.
The City also plans to eliminate a large number of additional development permit conditions. Work also includes advocating for statutory changes to simplify procedural requirements for rezoning so more projects may proceed without the need for rezoning.
